Universidade do Vale do Rio dos Sinos

Unisinos University
Universidade do Vale do Rio dos Sinos

Coat of arms of the university
Established August 1, 1969[1]
Type Private, non-profit
Affiliation Society of Jesus
Rector Marcelo Fernandes de Aquino
Vice rector José Ivo Follmann
Academic staff
 900[2]
Students 25,000[2]
Undergraduates 23,000[2]
Location São Leopoldo, Rio Grande do Sul,  Brazil
Campus Urban
Website Unisinos.br

UNISINOS is a Brazilian private Jesuit University, founded in 1969. Its main campus is located in Southern Brazil (São Leopoldo City, Rio Grande do Sul State). UNISINOS welcomes more than thirty thousand students in its 91 undergraduate courses, 19 academic masters, 6 professional masters, and 14 PhD programs, all in their six Schools - Polytechnic, Business, Law, Health, Creative Industry, and Humanities.

UNISINOS has a strategic orientation in Science, Technology and Innovation with a global dimension. UNISINOS’ Campus has a Technological Park – TECNOSINOS, which consists in 75 companies from 10 different countries, including the South Korean HT Micron and the German SAP Labs Latin America. Together these companies are responsible for 6.000 direct job positions.

TECNOSINOS was elected as the best technological Park in Brazil by ANPROTEC (National Association of Entities Promoting Innovative ventures) in 2010 and 2014. In 2014, its incubated company was awarded the best incubated in the world – given by SBPA Simulators. From the academic view, UNISINOS is the TOP 1 private undergraduate university and the TOP 2 private University in Brazil.

Unisinos aerial view.

History

In 1869, in São Leopoldo, in Rio Grande do Sul state, the Jesuits founded Colégio Nossa Senhora da Conceição, the first official school in Rio Grande do Sul. The Cristo Rei School of Philosophy, Sciences and Literature becomes official in 1953. It was later named São Leopoldo School of Philosophy, Sciences and Literature. A century after the beginnings of Colégio Nossa Senhora da Conceição, on July 31, 1969, Saint Ignatius of Loyola's Day, Unisinos received official recognition as a university.[3]

It is part of a network of more than 200 Jesuit colleges and universities worldwide, with 2.2 million students.

Unisinos has more than 900 professors – of whom 86% have either a Master's or a Doctor's degree, which is above the national level – and about 900 employees in its staff. More than 55,000 alumni have graduated from Unisinos.

In 2004, Unisinos became the first university in Latin America and one of five in the world to receive ISO 14001 certification, which is granted to institutions committed to the natural environment.

Institutes

The Humanitas Unisinos Institute (IHU) develops and articulates projects involving research, studies, reflections, analyses, and services. It finds solutions to challenges, based on social Christian humanism. Every year it produces 30 publications and 200 lectures.[4]

The Information Technology Institute promotes courses, services and events, applying scientific knowledge to solutions for companies and professionals linked to the field of information technology. It offers 300 technological courses in São Leopoldo, Porto Alegre or in company. It offers consulting and assistance services, as well as entrepreneurial missions, with 1,500 participants per year.[4]

Library of Unisinos.

The Anchietano Research Institute is a study center in areas such as Archaeology and Anthropology. The museum houses objects from the culture of the Native American populations, mainly the ones in Rio Grande do Sul. The collection comprises missionary statues as well as images, books, tools, and sacred altars of the 20th century.[4]

Social Action in Unisinos has 13 social projects in pasrtnershio with communities, collective groups, cooperatives and associations. The fields are: health, education for children, teenagers and young adults, labor, legal advice, religions, human aging and academic inclusion. The projects involve 45 teachers and 350 students. 150,000 people are reached per year.[4]

Unicidade is a movement aiming at the economic and social development of the region and involves the creation of partnerships between Unisinos and social sectors, both public and private. Its main objective is to use the academic apparatus (teaching, research and continued education) in order to make a better world. The partner of Unisinos in this movement is Bank Santander.[4]

The Eurocentre Unisinos is part of a network of operators of the AI-Invest program in Latin America. It is maintained with resources from the European Union and aims at promoting and strengthening the cooperation between European and Latin American companies.

The Agency for Integration and Development (AID-Unisinos) obtains external resources for partnerships which stimulate university actions for regional development. The activities involve undergraduate, graduate and continued education students.[4]

Museum of Geological History of Rio Grande do Sul

Sangaia lavinai in museum.

The museum was inaugurated on July 31, 2006 and is in Building 6 Unisinos.[5] It aims to recreate a part of the history of Rio Grande do Sul, told through the materials found and collected in the Geopark of Paleorrota by professionals in the fields of geology and biology, which make up a collection of more than 8,000 pieces. The objective is to provide opportunities for practical knowledge, for the courses in geology and biology at the university. The material found in the museum is studied by other universities. The museum contains samples of minerals, rocks and fossils that tell the early history of Rio Grande do Sul.

The university has contributed to the research and preservation of paleontological sites of geopark of paleorrota.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Foundation Day
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Relatório de Administração" (in Portuguese). Unisinos. 2010. Retrieved April 2010.
  3. ↑ Unisinos - History
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 "Institutes of Unisinos" (in Portuguese). Unisinos. 2010. Retrieved April 2010.
  5. ↑ Museu de História Geológica do Rio Grande do Sul

External links

Coordinates: 29°47′40″S 51°09′14″W / 29.79444°S 51.15389°W